A dressy little thank-you

Posted on June 5, 2013 by mauistamper

We just finished another round of Hostess Club last month, and I wanted to say thanks:

These are super-simple – two dresses adhered to either side of a basic little box just the right size for a Chapstick. Add a Rhinestone Jewel and a Floral Trim rosette (sob! they’re retired…) and that’s it!

I really enjoyed choosing the DSP for these – just like fabric shopping!

The box is just a little shorter than the dress from hem to neckline – I think I made it 2 1/2″ tall – and it’s 3/4″ on each side. They took no time at all with my Simply Scored.

Each one is a little different from the next – just like my Hostesses 🙂

I put them in clear bags with a few shreddies in the bottom and tied them with a snippet of ribbon. Don’t ask me about that stamp set – it was a VERY special giveaway at convention a couple of years ago. Can’t wait to see what Stampin’ Up! has in store for us this year!

June on a wire

Posted on June 1, 2013 by mauistamper

I love birds.

I love hearing the cardinal first thing in the morning; at dawn the male is always at the top of the Cook Island Pine across the street from my house. On a perfect day, it’s his “Good Morning” that wakes me up. If I’m too sound asleep (read: stayed up way too late stamping) then I miss his song, and it’s the shrill, repetitive call of the Francolin that shatters my dreams. Either way, it’s a pleasure to lie in bed for a few minutes listening to all the diffferent bird voices as the day begins.

For the Birds Stamp set
Crumb Cake, Daffodil Delight and Pool Party Stampin’ Write markers
Pool Party FFIP
Stampin’ Sponge
Simply Scored
Borders Scoring Plate

The first time I stamped this design, I used the stamp just as is….but the wires that the birds sit on started and stopped in the middle of the calendar page and it bothered me. I added the sponging to make it seem more complete but I was just kidding myself.

Then my Simply Scored Borders Scoring Plate arrived in my pre-order from the Spring Catalog (I LOVE GETTING PRE-ORDERS.) It had the perfect curves to make edge-to-edge wires! I scored them first, then without moving the guides ran the Crumb Cake Stampin’ Write marker in the score lines to further define them.

Every once in a while, I amaze even myself.

The Best of RemARKable Butterflies

Posted on May 18, 2013 by mauistamper

I hope you’re enjoying these two RemARKable blog tours every month. We’ve just lined up our next few sets for the Stamp of the Month Tour on the second Sunday every month (and NO, I am NOT going to spill the beans – come back and see what they are!). The third Sunday of the month is reserved for the 25th Anniversary “Best of” releases throughout 2013. We are working a month behind so that we have plenty of time to create, so this month we are featuring the April set, Best of Butterflies.

I’ve made 3 different projects for you. In addition to the 25th Anniversary Best of Butterflies stamp set, I’m featuring 3 Big Shot dies that are on the Retiring Products list. That means that these 3 dies are currently being sold on an “as available” basis – when the last one is sold, it’s gone!

First up is the Bigz XL Fancy Favor Box #115965. (I KNOW.) But we have to trust that Stampin’ Up! has bigger and better things planned for us 🙂 This box has been a FAVORite of mine for many projects. You can easily create a top using another Fancy Favor or (and this is gorgeous) one of our Paper Doilies. It’s a perfect size for favors (duh!) and small gifts, and punching a circle in the front allows you to peek at the goodies inside. (Crystal said I should put something shiny inside: what could be shinier than Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans??)

The butterfly I chose for this project coordinates with the Elegant Butterfly punch. A little TIEF on the box, a couple of circles and leaves, and this project is ready to go!

The Two Tags Bigz die is another favorite I am sorry to see leave our lineup. I’ve used both of these shapes for countless projects. This one is popular at craft shows – two of the fold-over tags adhered with a smidge of Tombo (the Wonder Adhesive) to create a gift card holder. This butterfly was embossed with Irridescent Ice and hand-cut.

Again, a couple of flowers, some leaves and a little bling and you are in business!

Finally, the sweet Petite Pocket Bigz die – which I am sorry to tell you is No Longer Available – makes a perfect little dress-up for a girly gift of lip shine. I used Pretty in Pink ink on Pink Pirouette card stock to get extra definition of this third butterfly, which I am grateful not to have cut out 🙂

Don’t miss out on that gorgeous 1 1/4 inch Two Tone Ribbon either – that is not carrying over to the 2013-2014 Annual Catalog. I’m stocking up!!

I did create a little tag with the smallest Soda Pop top and drizzled a little Crystal Effects on top for extra shine.

Time to flutter over to the Trinity Design Studio and see what Robin has created for you!

One of a Kind

Posted on May 10, 2013 by mauistamper

In case you were wondering, I’m pretty sure God broke the mold when I was born. One of my little character quirks is that I like things to be Just So.

As a result, I’ve spent WEEKS fiddling around with my first This ‘n That journal. I finally settled on the “One of a Kind” theme, but kept going around and around with colors, papers and embellishments. Last weekend, while the stampers were working on their Manly Cards, it finally clicked in place for me. I’m not going to list every product I used on this, but many of them came from the April This ‘n That bundle and will be available in the 2013-2014 Annual catalog.

Love that Epic Day This ‘n That DSP. Every side is awesome. And I also love the little dots stamp that came with My Paper Pumpkin Welcome kit. It just stays on my craft table. It goes on everything!

There might be some retired stamps in this photo…couldn’t help it. But look at those tiny flags! And one of the DSP sheets has hexagons printed on it so you can just cut them out and add them to your project.

Washi tape is my new favorite embellishment. You can just tear it off. It’s kinda like a sticky note, so you can peel it off and re-position it. And I am using it for everything! I wrapped some around my iPhone charger so my son (who will be home from college TOMORROW) will know it is mine.

Now to fill the pages….

No one likes to be sick…

Posted on May 3, 2013 by mauistamper

…and I have the flu. Bah Humbug and all that.

I’m feeling pretty sorry for myself, and although it took me nearly all day to get it done, I made a little something to cheer myself up. It started when I had to go find a fresh box of tissue. It was an ugly box. I knew if I was going to get better, I needed more than an ugly box of tissues:

There, isn’t that better? If I’m going to need tissue (and unfortunately, I do) it should come from a pretty tissue box!

The new 2013-2014 catalog has LOTS of suites of products, and some of the suites have sweet bundles so that we can save a little extra. The Mosaic theme has stamps, a TIEF, AND a punch. Stampin’ Up! is known for coordination, and this catalog brings it to another level!

I scrunched up a bunch of different punched elements – mostly flowers and scallops – to create the flower trims for the top. I added a few ribbons with my trusty hot glue gun and finished off the project with a bunch of Rhinestone jewels.

The colors are Pool Party and Bermuda Bay. I kept a stash of retired In Color papers and ink, so I was ready for this new Color Refresh!

Now I just need to get healthy again so the creative process doesn’t take so long.

May Dandelion Wishes

Posted on May 1, 2013 by mauistamper

These flowers don’t have quite round enough a shape to be dandelions, but that’s what I see in them. I have enough of a romantic side that I still think of wishes when I see dandelions, not weed seeds heading off to yet another lawn.

Summer Silhouettes and Collage Curios stamp sets
Regal Rose and Lucky Limeade FFIP
Blender pen
Pink Pirouette Shimmer Mist in a Stampin’ Spritzer

You do know that you can make any color of Shimmer Mist (just a little Champagne Mist Shimmer paint mixed with rubbing alcohol) by adding a few drops from an Ink Refill don’t you? I always have a bunch of Stampin’ Spritzers on hand. They’re flat-out CHEAP and always good for a quick Wow.

Hurry off to the OnlineStore for your Champagne Shimmer – it’s headed for retirement.

Epic Day Bag in a Box

Posted on April 30, 2013 by mauistamper

The Epic Day This ‘n That Designer Series paper has my name written all over it. I’m not going to tell you how many This ‘n That bundles I bought, but I will tell you that today is the LAST day to get them at 15% off. Epic colors, epic designs – you can’t go wrong with this paper.

Hostess club made little Bag-in-a-Box packages:

We added flags, and the hot air balloon from You’re Amazing. We used the new little round scallop punch and an image from A Round Array, also available as a bundle (#133899, $23.95) through May 30. You could add all sorts of goodies to customize this idea – and isn’t that the point?

This ‘n That Epic Day Bundle includes the Epic Day dsp, Epic Day This ‘n That journal, This ‘n That Epic Day Washi Tape (OH BE STILL MY HEART), Remember This ‘n That Rotary stamp (you NEED this) and This ‘n That Epic Day This n That Designer Stickers. (These are not your grandmother’s stickers, either.) All five elements are available separately at my Online Store, but hurry over today and order them together as a bundle (#133350) for $32.08 – you’ll be saving 15%. You’ll be glad you did.

a RemARKably SECRET Garden Tour

Posted on April 13, 2013 by mauistamper

Welcome to another edition of our RemARKable Stamp of the Month tour – this month we’re featuring Secret Garden and the coordinating Secret Garden Framelits. RemARKables are a very creative group and I am certain you’re finding loads of great ideas. Let’s see if I can’t share one or two more.

I snooped through Pinterest for ideas and saw a lot of cards that included round or oval shapes with the Secret Garden flowers. I thought about making a round card, but ultimately came up with an oval card that I am very pleased with. Tell me what you think!

This is the largest oval framelit, cut from So Saffron and embossed with the Lattice TIEF. It’s layered over a card cut from Whisper White – Stampin’ Up! Whisper White is just a little lighter weight, and you can cut two layers with a framelit. The various flowers from the Secret Garden stamp set are inked in either Perfect Plum or So Saffron and stamped on either Whisper White or Perfect Plum card stock. A little ribbon, a few pearls, and a banner finish it off! The message on the banner is from the new Cuddles and Kisses stamp set – great fonts and great messages!

I cut a LOT of flowers to play with, and when I was finished with the card there were still a LOT of flowers left over! After a few false starts, I came up with a fun gift to go with this card:

This frame has moved around my studio a half dozen times begging to be embellished. It took a major expedition to find the dog-gone thing once I realized I needed it. Isn’t that how it goes? Of course, I’m not showing you what my studio looks like, because you would see the problem immediately.

The framelits do such a quick, clean job of cutting things out. Fussy cutting looks great, but it’s a bother to do! This takes the trouble out of the process.

Time to take a peek over the fence at Robin’s Secret Garden! She always has gorgeous projects to share – I know you’ll love it!

Link not working? Try this: Robin Merriman

Nancy Amato http://stampinallnight.blogspot.com
Linda Bartolucci http://www.inkstampandscrap.com/
Ingrid Blackburn http://www.createwithingrid.wordpress.com
Melissa Bolinger http://www.stampinup.net/blog/2089191
Jackie Bottomley http://www.jackiebottomley.blogspot.com
Susan Carlson http://www.stampinmomoffour.blogspot.com
Tamra Davis http://www.thecardladies.com
Connie Deibler http://www.conniestamps.com
Becky Evans http://www.alwayshappystampin.com
Crystal Kondo http://www.card-ed.com
Deb Lehigh http://thestampinhut.typepad.com/
Debbie Lever http://www.debbiescreativespot.blogspot.com
Anne Matasci http://www.MauiStamper.wordpress.com
Robin Merriman http://www.trinitydesignstudio.blogspot.com
Maria Pane http://www.stampinandscrappinwithriri.blogspot.com
Andi Potler http://www.absolutekreations.com
Michele Reynolds http://www.inspirationink.typepad.com
Jeannette Swain http://www.stampsnwhatnot.com/
Janet Wakeland http://wp.me/pHIQD-4P4

April Farewells

Posted on April 1, 2013 by mauistamper

In April, we usually bid farewell to the humpback whales that spend the winter off our islands. I say usually because their arrival and departures are guided by their own internal clocks rather than the calendar.

It’s hard for me to describe the thrill I feel watching whales in our waters. They’re huge – the size of a school bus – and yet they can launch almost their entire bodies out of the water to create a spectacular crashing splash. Naturalists believe that there are a lot of reasons for that behavior, including the simple desire for fun. It’s always a joy when the first sighting is reported, and as the sightings become fewer and farther apart there’s a sense of sad farewell.

Oh Whale stamp set
Bashful Blue and Wild Wasabi FFIP
Happy Whale Clearlits die
Rhinestone jewels

I suppose I could have hand-trimmed the whale image, but why would I do that when there’s a Clearlit that will save me the trouble?

Sale-a-bration ENDS TODAY!!

Posted on March 24, 2013 by mauistamper

Time flies when products are free! Today is the last day for a 2013 Sale-a-bration order – and Maui folks, that’s on Utah time so don’t get caught! Your order needs to be in by 7:50pm HST!

The Sale-a-bration exclusives have been awesome this year but I think the Sycamore Street Designer Series paper was my favorite. I have a couple of packages stashed, so I decided to make another clothespin wreath with my extra pieces.

These wreaths are not hard to make. It takes a LOT of time to prepare the pieces, and it takes a little while to put it all together too. But putting the strips on the clothes pins takes no thinking at all, and scrunching up the flower papers is just plain fun!

That brad in the middle of the Island Indigo flower is a treasure I have been hoarding – they were available for only a month about a year ago and I have been very, very stingy using them!

However, I think this wreath is a perfect class – so I’m offering it on Saturday, April 6 at 1 pm. This will be LIMITED enrollment and first-come-first served so that everyone has enough space. Cost is $25 and includes everything you’ll need except for Tombo – and I highly recommend you use Tombo for this project. I’ll have it here if you need a fresh bottle.

Don’t wait to RSVP! We’ll have a lot of fun with this one 🙂 If you can’t make Saturday mornings and would be interested in a week day or evening, please let me know and I’ll see if there is enough interest.

The Maui Stamper

papercrafts, my stories, and the occasional insight

Category Archives: 3-D

A dressy little thank-you

June on a wire

The Best of RemARKable Butterflies

One of a Kind

No one likes to be sick…

May Dandelion Wishes

Epic Day Bag in a Box

a RemARKably SECRET Garden Tour

April Farewells

Sale-a-bration ENDS TODAY!!

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